1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to hand accessories and more particularly to those useful for improving power transmission between the hand and the handle of an implement, such as a piece of sports equipment or a tool.
2. Prior Art
When gripping and swinging a handle of an implement such as a baseball bat, tennis racquet, hockey stick and hammer, there is a space between the handle and the base of the thumb and the forefinger, filled with a loose compressible web of skin. This area is a low density space which contains no bone or muscle. When the user swings the handle of the implement prior to impact, the handle moves from the fingers into the web of skin. At his time, the user loses power and control of the implement. Just immediately prior to impact, the implement will again move into the fingers. However, power and control have been lost, which in baseball is a sufficient difference to decrease a player's batting average by as much as one hundred points. To a professional ballplayer, even a small change in batting average can amount to a significant salary change.
At the force of impact, the implement will again recoil into the web, compressing it. This absorbs and dissipates energy otherwise transmissible to the ball or puck, thus causing a weaker than optimal shot. No matter how tightly one grips the handle, this space remains soft like a sponge. Both timing and power, as well as bat, racket or stick speed are lost, with the final result being a less than optimal or full-force shot. U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,043 seeks to provide a cushion in the hand web but does not improve speed or power transmission between the hand and handle of a baseball bat.
There remains a need for a simple device capable of increasing bat, racquet or hockey stick speed and of improving force transmission between the hand and handle of the bat, racquet or hockey stick for improved power hitting of a ball or puck. The device should be capable of being made in a variety of sizes and shapes and forms, and be capable of protecting the hand against injury. It should be utilizable with barbell weight lifting and other sports, and with various tools, such as hammers, etc. It also should reduce strain on the fingers. In the aforementioned C.I.P. patent application, the invention was directed primarily to the leading hand (the left hand for a righthanded baseball player). The structure in the C.I.P. application was L-shaped with a portion of the hand accessory overlaying the web. Within the trailing hand (the right hand), there is less need for any portion that overlies the web. Thus, the claimed present invention is directed in part to a hand accessory which has no portion that overlies the web.